PORT ST. LUCIE – Javier Vazquez wasn’t a free agent and the Yankees weren’t in danger of losing him. But in the end, their decision to sign the talented right-hander to a long-term deal came down to a simple equation.
“This guy has a lot of value to us,” GM Brian Cashman said yesterday on a conference call, “and he’s got a lot of value in the industry.”
And so the Yankees decided to put a price tag on that value and lock Vazquez up before he hit the market after the upcoming season. The new Yankee, acquired in a trade with Montreal last month, avoided arbitration by inking a four-year, $45 million deal yesterday that will keep him in pinstripes through 2007.
Just 27, Vazquez will be a Yankee for what should be his prime years.
“New York is a great place to play and I love playing in New York,” Vazquez said. “I want to have that opportunity to win some championships with the Yankees. It made it very easy for me.”
Vazquez will earn $8.5 million this year (not including a $2 million signing bonus), $10.5 million in 2005, $11.5 million in 2006 and $12.5 million in 2007. But the Yankees surely view it as a small price for a young arm whose vaunted repertoire is as varied as any in the game. Last year in Montreal, Vazquez went 13-12 with a 3.24 ERA and finished third in the majors with 241 strikeouts.
Cashman said that Vazquez underwent a five-hour physical, so there were no qualms about his long-term health. Rather, as the GM noted, “The only uncertain side is the American League and New York.”
Indeed, Vazquez, who has spent his whole career pitching in relatively meaningless games in front of sparse crowds, must prove he can handle a Bronx pennant race. Cashman cited former Expos Pedro Martinez and John Wetteland as pitchers who thrived on big stages, and the Yankees hope Vazquez joins that cluster.
“Obviously pitching in Montreal is not the same as pitching for the Yankees,” said Vazquez, who hopes to inherit David Wells’ No. 33 (he wore No. 23 in Montreal, but that is Don Mattingly’s). “All that’s acceptable is winning.”
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The Yankees would like to sign arbitration-eligible Alfonso Soriano to a long-term deal, but Cashman said the most likely scenario remains a one-year pact . . . Despite the all-righty starting rotation, Cashman said he would take a high-ceiling right-hander before a low-caliber southpaw . . . The Yankees still hope to find a backup for Jason Giambi, most likely Tony Clark.
